As Regulators Seek To Increase Adoption of Sustainable Fuels, Mobile Fueling Can Increase Accessibility

Though business owners and fleet managers recognize the need for fleet decarbonization, many find the path to net-zero to be murky at best. But next steps don’t have to take on full decarbonization – sustainable fuels offer easily attainable emissions reductions. In a recent article published by Fleet Equipment Magazine, Frank Mycroft, CEO and co-founder of Booster® — the leading mobile energy delivery company — explains that fleet managers seeking to decarbonize in the short-term should look to sustainable fuels and mobile fueling.

“Fleet managers are finding themselves inundated with a never-ending series of decisions around the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), the growing need for emissions tracking, heightened awareness around sustainability reporting, the lure of government incentives and more,” writes Mycroft. “To complicate these decisions further, many of them center on capital-intensive choices around emerging technologies that are, in effect, future-facing bets in a chronically uncertain marketplace.”

But all progress is progress, and fleet managers should be wary of letting great become the enemy of good by forgoing easy sustainability wins under the impression that electrification or whole-fleet upgrades and replacements are the only way to curb emissions.

Amid the global movements for decarbonization and sustainability, a slew of state and federal regulations aimed at increasing production, reducing price and incentivizing adoption of sustainable fuels have arisen, including provisions in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As such regulations become more common, the push to adopt low-carbon fuels will grow.

By adopting sustainable fuels made available by mobile fueling on demand (MFOD) services like Booster, fleet managers can lower overall emissions without any modifications or upgrades to existing equipment or infrastructure. Often made from renewable resources like plants or waste, there are a range of sustainable fuels available — namely renewable diesel, which offers up to 70% lower lifecycle emissions than its petroleum counterpart.

But access to sustainable fuels has long been a barrier to adoption, explains Mycroft, as gas stations rarely offer sustainable alternatives — out of 145,000 fuel stations in the United States, the AFDC reports that only 833 carry biodiesel—fewer than 1%. Mobile fueling can fill that gap while reducing time, miles and emissions spent going to the gas station, explains Mycroft.

“As the federal and state governments work to increase supply of alternative fuels and lower the nation’s carbon intensity with aggressive emissions reduction targets, fleet owners should take the opportunity to adopt sustainable fuels,” writes Mycroft. “For those who choose to do so, MFOD can simplify and ease the way forward, boosting efficiency while shrinking emissions footprints.”